1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a process for finishing textiles with oil components, and more particularly, to a process for finishing textiles with one or more oil components using one or more alkali metal and/or alkaline earth metal soaps of one or more C6-24 fatty acids as emulsifiers.
2. Background Information
High-quality textiles are being increasingly produced using oil mixtures which impart skin-care properties to the textiles. These oil mixtures are capable of imparting moisturizing, smoothing or lipid-layer-enhancing properties to the skin when taken up through the textile fabric. For finishing textiles with oil mixtures, the oil mixtures are normally used in the form of an aqueous dispersion which is further diluted in the textile liquor. These aqueous solutions may the be used, for example, in a padding or absorption process for finishing textiles. Absorption processes are preferably used in textile-processing factories, above all for the finishing of textile fabrics or made-up textiles produced completely or partly from modern synthetic fibers, such as, for example, polyester, polyamide or elastane. In the exhaust method for applying oil mixtures, it is important to bear in mind that the oil not absorbed by the textile is lost which can make finishing uneconomical in view of high production costs and expensive ingredients. In addition, there is the danger that too little of the oil mixture is absorbed by the textile, so that the desired skin-care effect is not achieved. In addition, the oil mixture can be unevenly absorbed so that unsightly stains are left behind on the textiles. In the finishing of textile with oil mixtures, product losses occur in particular in the absorption process because the oils used are not completely absorbed by the fibers.